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Sistrurus Catenatus) Species Status Assessment for the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) SSA Report Version 2 July 2016 Photo: M. Redmer© Authors: Jennifer Szymanski, Cathy Pollack, Laura Ragan, Mike Redmer, Louise Clemency, Kristen Voorhies, Jonathan JaKa i Acknowledgments: We would like to express our gratitude to the following for their expert input. EMR biology: Richard King, Frank Durbian, Trisha Crabill; Peer review of our analyses: Richard B. King, Lisa Faust, Mike Dreslik, Yu Man Lee, Rich Seigel, Rich S. King. ii Executive Summary This report summarizes the results of a species status assessment (SSA) conducted for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (EMR), Sistrurus catenatus, to assess the species’ overall viability. The EMR historically occupied parts of western New York, western Pennsylvania, southeastern Ontario, the lower peninsula of Michigan, the northern two-thirds of Ohio and Indiana, the northern three-quarters of Illinois, the southern half of Wisconsin, extreme southeast Minnesota, east-central Missouri, and the eastern third of Iowa. The SSA begins with a description the snake’s ecological requirements for survival and reproduction as they relate to its overall viability. We generally defined viability as the ability of the species to maintain self-sustaining populations over the long-term. Using the principles of resiliency, representation, and redundancy, we considered the species’ needs at the individual, population, and species scales. We also identified the beneficial and risk factors influencing the species’ viability. We considered the degree to which the species’ ecological needs are met both currently and as can be forecasted into the future, and assessed the consequences of any unmet needs as they relate to the species’ viability. The EMR’s ecology is summarized in Chapter 2, risk and beneficial factors are analyzed in Chapter 3, the analyses for current condition are summarized in Chapter 4, and future condition analyses are summarized in Chapter 5. In Chapter 6, we summarize our analyses of current and projected future EMR population conditions, and provide additional context for interpreting those results through comparison to the results of another population model that incorporates climate change predictions, and by highlighting the sources and effects of uncertainty in our models and methods. For survival and reproduction at the individual level, the EMR requires appropriate habitat, which varies depending on the season and life stage. During the winter (generally October through March), EMRs occupy hibernacula, such as crayfish burrows. Intact hydrology at EMR sites is important in maintaining conditions that support their over-winter survival. During their active season (after they emerge from hibernacula), they require low canopy cover and sunny areas (intermixed with shaded areas) for thermoregulation (basking and retreat sites), abundant prey (foraging sites), and the ability to escape predators (retreat sites). Habitat structure, including early successional stage and low canopy cover, appears to be more important for EMR habitat than plant community composition or soil type. At the population level, the EMR requires sufficient population numbers and population growth (controlled by survivorship, recruitment, population structure, and size). Populations also require a sufficient quantity of high quality microhabitats with intact hydrology and ecological processes that maintain suitable habitat, and connectivity among these microhabitats. We define a self-sustaining population as one that is demographically, genetically, and physiologically (DGP) robust with a high level of persistence given its habitat conditions and the risk or beneficial factors operating upon it. We define a DGP robust population as one that has an adult female population size greater than 50 and has a stable or increasing growth rate; we defined high persistence as a probability of persistence greater than 0.90. We relied on a population-specific model developed by Faust et al. 2011 (hereafter referred to as the Faust model) to assess the health of populations across the EMR range. Faust and colleagues developed a generic, baseline model for a slightly growing EMR population. Using this baseline model and site- iii specific information, including population size estimate, risk factors operating at the site, and potential future management changes that might address those factors, the Faust model forecasted the future condition of 57 EMR populations over different time spans (10, 25, and 50 years). We extrapolated the Faust results and supplemental information gathered since 2011 to forecast the future conditions of the remaining (non-modeled) EMR populations. At the species level, the EMR requires multiple (redundancy), self-sustaining (resiliency), populations distributed across the full gradient of genetic and ecological diversity (representation). Using the literature on distribution of genetic diversity across the range of this species, we identified three geographic “analysis units” corresponding to genetic variation patterns across the EMR populations. We assume these genetic variation patterns represent areas of unique adaptive diversity. We subsequently use these analysis units (Eastern, Central, and Western) to structure our analysis of viability. Factors that affect EMR viability, in order of current relative significance to the species, include: habitat loss, vegetative succession, habitat fragmentation, road mortality, hydrologic alternation/water fluctuation, persecution, collection, habitat management practices including post-emergent prescribed fire and mowing, and disease. The loss of habitat was historically, and continues to be, the primary threat affecting this species either through development or vegetative succession. Habitat fragmentation is the second most commonly occurring factor at EMR sites, and vegetation succession is the third most common factor. The population model developed by Faust et al. (2011), indicates that the risk factors most likely to push a population to quasi-extirpation within 25 years (high magnitude risk factors) are late-stage vegetative succession, high habitat fragmentation, moderate habitat fragmentation, total habitat loss, and moderate habitat loss or modification. Our analysis of 57 EMR populations modeled by Faust et al. (2011) and an additional 165 populations for which we have risk factor information, indicates that of 222 EMR populations, 84% are impacted by at least one high magnitude risk factor and 63% are impacted by multiple high magnitude risk factors. Broken down by analysis unit, in the western analysis unit (WAU), 95% of the populations are impacted by high magnitude factors; the other population is impacted by low magnitude factors. In the central analysis unit (CAU), 82% are affected by high magnitude factors, 0.5% by moderate magnitude factors, 9% by low magnitude factors, and 8.5% by none of the modeled factors (or other factors). In the eastern analysis unit (EAU), 88% populations are experiencing high magnitude factors, 4% moderate level factors, and 8% low magnitude factors. In the EAU, no sites are free from effects due to risk factors. We assumed these risk factors are chronic and are expected to continue with a similar magnitude of impact into the future, unless ameliorated by increased implementation of conservation actions. Disease, either new diseases or increasing prevalence of existing diseases, is another emerging and potentially catastrophic threat to EMR populations. Due to a lack of information on the potential emergence or future spread of disease among EMR populations, we did not model this threat in forecasting future conditions for the rattlesnake. Our analysis also did not consider two other prominent risk factors, road mortality and persecution. Of 263 sites with extant populations, 62% occur on land (public and private) that is considered protected from development. Two of these populations have signed Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA), and the State of Michigan submitted a draft CCAA to cover state managed lands in iv Michigan. These plans include actions to mediate the stressors acting upon the populations and provide management prescriptions to perpetuate EMRs on these sites. At an additional 22 sites, habitat restoration is occurring. We do not have information at these sites to know if restoration has mediated the current threats acting upon the populations; the Faust model, however, included these restoration activities in the projections of trends, and thus, our future conditions analyses considered these activities and assumed that ongoing restoration would continue into the future. Lastly, another 18 populations have conservation plans in place. Although these plans are intended to manage for EMR, we did not have sufficient site-specific information to assess whether these restoration activities are currently ameliorating the stressors acting upon the population. Thus, we were unable to include the potential beneficial impacts into our analyses. On the remaining protected sites, non-development stressors such as fragmentation, succession, exotic species invasion, dam construction, water level manipulation, and other incompatible habitat modifications are likely to continue. As a result of the risk factors acting upon EMR populations, the resiliency of the EMR across its range and within each analysis unit has declined. Rangewide, there are 558 known historical EMR populations of which
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